New boots

[Tyler]

true

[Schif]

jeff uses these codes that i dont understand

 

Every 15 minutes I'm opening up urbandictionary.com so i can understand the new random combo of letters he throws out there.

[Glenn]

Well, this is an entertaining thread. Where to start...

 

Gurp... FTL has nothing to do with boots.

 

TP4... FTL has little or nothing to do with myspace and aim. The acronym is from online gaming. Along with woot, pwn and a handfull of other common internet slang terms. No need to make it stop.

 

Atomic... Well, you know steve doesn't race right? You know that whats good for racers isn't good for everyone right? You know that they do "crazy" stuff like de-tune their edges right. If you answered yes to any of these question, then why wouldn't the boots be similar. A likely scenario goes like this... Park rats don't need as much support, and a little sloppier boot my help them land tricks, and prevent nasty stuff like shin bang. They don't rock stiff boots, why would they need the support that more than 2 straps provides? Of course, I'm a lowly snowboarder, and probobly shouldn't poke my nose into skier affairs. It seemed pretty obvious to me though.

 

Lib... those boots look sick. I definately love my salomons, but they are ugly as hell. Nice pick up... and they look real comfy!

[Papasteeze]

Atomic... Well, you know steve doesn't race right? You know that whats good for racers isn't good for everyone right? You know that they do "crazy" stuff like de-tune their edges right. If you answered yes to any of these question, then why wouldn't the boots be similar. A likely scenario goes like this... Park rats don't need as much support, and a little sloppier boot my help them land tricks, and prevent nasty stuff like shin bang. They don't rock stiff boots, why would they need the support that more than 2 straps provides? Of course, I'm a lowly snowboarder, and probobly shouldn't poke my nose into skier affairs. It seemed pretty obvious to me though.

 

thanks glen - you are right on.

 

The SPK and Kryptons (3 buckle) are theeee park boots for this season. Very few people have actually tried the SPK - nips now has 2 rail jams in them and really likes them. He suffers from shin bang/splints. So far so good, no bang!! We took the rear spoiler out of them because they were too tight around his leg. The toe box is large for curling the toes around rails. Essentially the SPK has all the customizing that we did to his foils built in standard, plus stands more upright, has a snowboarders liner cinch and has added padding.

 

[*]Freestyle-specific Spaceframe construction minimizes boot weight for jumps; a fat toe box enhances skier balance

[AtomicSkier]

Of course, I'm a lowly snowboarder, and probobly shouldn't poke my nose into skier affairs.

 

 

Yes, I'm sure a "sloppy" boot would be just great so that their toes slide forward and hit the toebox, which is always a great feeling. I'm sure the lack of suport is great for landing at all the weird angles they do. Support from the boots is how you prevent injury. You ask any of the older freestylers on here, who buy their own gear and make their own decisions. Support != discomfort. Support != race. The whole point of having a hard shell boot is FOR support, and support DOES equal control. You try to ski with a sloppy boot. It simply does not work. And I'm pretty sure park rats need control, too, not just racers.

 

 

The toe box is large for curling the toes around rails. Essentially the SPK has all the customizing that we did to his foils built in standard, plus stands more upright, has a snowboarders liner cinch and has added padding.

• Two-buckle system captures the foot at the instep and ankle while allowing needed freedom of movement in the toe box and around the top of the boot
  
• 55mm power strap also supports the ankle and, in conjunction with the two-buckle system, enhances freedom of movement
  

 

Large toe box? Two buckles? Freedom of movement in the toe box? In the TOP OF THE BOOT? That's everything you DON'T want in a boot.

 

Rob, you DO know boots aren't supposed to be loose?

 

[Papasteeze]

 

Yes, I'm sure a "sloppy" boot would be just great so that their toes slide forward and hit the toebox, which is always a great feeling. I'm sure the lack of suport is great for landing at all the weird angles they do. Support from the boots is how you prevent injury. You ask any of the older freestylers on here, who buy their own gear and make their own decisions. Support != discomfort. Support != race. The whole point of having a hard shell boot is FOR support, and support DOES equal control. You try to ski with a sloppy boot. It simply does not work. And I'm pretty sure park rats need control, too, not just racers.

Large toe box? Two buckles? Freedom of movement in the toe box? In the TOP OF THE BOOT? That's everything you DON'T want in a boot.

 

Rob, you DO know boots aren't supposed to be loose?

 

 

 

LOL and you do know that skis are to be straight, the acceptable length is one foot above your head.

 

keep talking - you are quickly becoming another antiquated old school skier. No worries, skiforever will welcome you with open arms.

 

Just ribbing you..............

 

 

You actually are semi correct and wrong at the same time, many of the pro FS skiers are still in thier race style boots - thats where they came from and that what they are comfortable in. Thall had a lot of input into the kryptons (loosening up the toe box) he came from moguls.... A collaberation of several salomon FS skiers (with USSA backgrounds) opened up the toe box on the SPK. There have not been boots to date that address the problems the newschool skiers have had. Nips boots were customized in previous years.

 

BTW - the SPK sucks in open free ride terrain, or so the reviews state. We will know more soon enough.

[AtomicSkier]

LOL and you do know that skis are to be straight, the acceptable length is one foot above your head.

 

keep talking - you are quickly becoming another antiquated old school skier. No worries, skiforever will welcome you with open arms.

 

Just ribbing you..............

You actually are semi correct and wrong at the same time, many of the pro FS skiers are still in thier race style boots - thats where they came from and that what they are comfortable in. Thall had a lot of input into the kryptons (loosening up the toe box) he came from moguls.... A collaberation of several salomon FS skiers (with USSA backgrounds) opened up the toe box on the SPK. There have not been boots to date that address the problems the newschool skiers have had. Nips boots were customized in previous years.

 

BTW - the SPK sucks in open free ride terrain, or so the reviews state. We will know more soon enough.

 

Boots should be snug and supportive, and there should be no movement inside the boot, period.

 

But you bring up a point that I was going to make. Alot of FS skiers still are in near race boots. I know Justo for example is in a pretty stiff Lange.

[method9455]

No one is saying that the boot is sloppy on the foot, but they're saying it has differant characteristics. The big toebox is for curling your toes, but if you foot is held securely that doesn't mean your sliding around in them, it just means you can move your toes. The softer flex on the boots matches the softer flex of the skis. Lateral support is still the same as a 'stiffer' boot and thats what matters on shaped skiis anyway. Softer inside = less crash when you land hard, shock absorbing heel is key becuase landing on your heel sucks no matter what sport you play. And these boots only have 2 or 3 buckles becuase they don't need the stiffness so why be dragged down by the weight? (Especially Nipples isn't that big so why buy a boot with 4 buckles and a lot of stiffness if its just going to break his shin when he lands hard forward?)

 

Realize that park is a lot differant than racing and it requires differant boots to deal with it. However you are correct that it doesn't require differant fit. The boot should still fit snug and the foot not slop around side to side for and back, but that doesn't mean the toebox can't accomidate a differant foot position. If the ski is differant, the body position differant, the stresses are differant, and the forces going from the foot to ski are differant, why shouldn't the boot be differant?

 

As for what kind of boots, a lot of the guys I know that ski park are in salomons (I know a few in foils). I don't know many in the Krypton even though it was designed for park but I also have a small sample size.

 

(edit - of course I am a snowboarder 1st and a skier 2nd, and I don't ski park or race on skis I just cruise on skis so I don't have 1st hand experiance with all that but I talk to a lot of freestyle skiers)

Edited October 23, 2006 by Method9455

[Papasteeze]

Boots should be snug and supportive, and there should be no movement inside the boot, period.

 

and all ski boots should have forward lean too, correct?

[method9455]

Almost all the reps for boot companies say that forward flex is for 90% of customers unimportant and just a personal preference. On shaped skis the side to side flex is what is important. That 10% is for racers. So basically forward stiff boots are mostly for people's own mindset that stiff boot = better. The main exception to that was the Lange guy, but even he was talking much more about heel pockets and shell fit over liner fit than stiffness.

[Justo8484]

jeff mentioned my langes... its a freeride 120, which is a snug fit, buts its a frankenboot. i have super skinny feet, so pretty much anything but an old lange (the new ones got a lot wider) or a race boot are my only options. lange kills it with boots. only problem for me is, the ones that fit me are all stiff, which is fine for freeriding, but for riding park, i want something i can bottom out, fle-wise. i took both bolts out of the back and hacked a v into the inner shell so they are super soft to the front, but still race stiff side to side. i also padded the sides of the tongue so my whole lower leg takes the impact instead of just my shin bone. custom footbeds are a must for me as well. the best boot for me, for what i am doing, and i feel that this applies to any freerider as well, from other people i work with to work i've done to other kids boots, is that the boot should be snug with a little wiggle room in the toes, but be soft to the front and stiff side to side. the krypton is the closest to this off the shelf, but its too narrow for a lot of people. the spk is going for the wider foot portion of the freeride market, and covering that well, but i dont feel like its stiff laterally for anything outside of the park, and the flex is really not any softer than the krypton rampage or lange freestyle boot, which both come in at a cheaper price point and will ski out of the park much much better. its cool that salomon is trying but it needs to be tweaked.

[method9455]

You'll find a lot of park skiers that are fucking with their shells like that, I know a guy who ground down his shell with a dremel tool to make it softer fore and back and other crap like that, that all says to me boots for park skiers need more improvement but we're moving in the right direction.

[snorovr]

Ya I was actually thinking about selling the new park skis I got this year to buy some boots for park and some boots for ripping/trips out west.

 

There are just so many different niches starting to pop up, kinda reminds me of the bike industry I work in. You can have two bikes with 6" of travel, one is a medium duty freeride bike, the other is a long travel XC bike, but they look almost the exact same. Its just little changes between the two that make a huge difference in the ride.

 

It makes way more sense to have a park boot be a bit more upright. I would think that it allows you to be more more stable skiing switch, as you can work the whole ski with alot more control. Its kinda hard to pressure the tails of the ski when skiing switch, because normal boots are designed to put your weight over the tips. I wish I could speak from experience, but maybe nipples will have some better input on this. It sounds right in theory...

[Justo8484]

i think the krypton is probably the best of both worlds at the moment if you're looking for a boot that kills it in the park but can also ski all mountain. you can change the flex of the boot as well as the cuff angle. unfortunately, dalbello doesnt have the brand recognition that salomon does, and the boot definately doesnt fit everyone.

[Papasteeze]

i think the krypton is probably the best of both worlds at the moment if you're looking for a boot that kills it in the park but can also ski all mountain. you can change the flex of the boot as well as the cuff angle. unfortunately, dalbello doesnt have the brand recognition that salomon does, and the boot definately doesnt fit everyone.

 

I got the rampages last week. wore them around the store for an hour, felt like slippers, should be perfect for racing!!

[Justo8484]

I got the rampages last week. wore them around the store for an hour, felt like slippers, should be perfect for racing!!

rampage liners are a lot softer and squishier than the cross or pro, or the new intuition liners this year.

[Papasteeze]

rampage liners are a lot softer and squishier than the cross or pro, or the new intuition liners this year.

 

I was going for the intuitions, had my beady little eyes and cold heart set on them. They hurt my knobby ankles.

[snorovr]

I was going for the intuitions, had my beady little eyes and cold heart set on them. They hurt my knobby ankles.

 

You sure that wasn't a footbed issue?

[Papasteeze]

You sure that wasn't a footbed issue?

 

yeah - the liner is stiff and is supposed to mold to your leg/foot - I wasn't willing to risk eventual comfort.

[Papasteeze]

Got some new salomon boots. Things are mad comfy. Salomon deffinitly has the whole boot thing going on now.

 

 

Modified version of the Salomon SPK

 

[Justo8484]

Modified version of the Salomon SPK

 

 

is that from a snowboard boot outer or a rollerblade trs skin?

[Papasteeze]

is that from a snowboard boot outer or a rollerblade trs skin?

 

I dunno - I hope to know early next week how they did that. Seems like a lot of work to be custom fitted, on the other hand if somebody made one of them maybe they will do it again.

 

The thing is that it is the same motif as Lib's Salomon snow board boot.

[Glenn]

The thing is that it is the same motif as Lib's Salomon snow board boot.

 

The motif of the snowboard boot is a urban argyle design, whereas the ski boot has a cowboy boot motif. They share somewhat similar shape templates though.

[Papasteeze]

The motif of the snowboard boot is a urban argyle design, whereas the ski boot has a cowboy boot motif. They share somewhat similar shape templates though.

 

uh.... ok. lol... never took you for a fashion guy....

[Shadows]

i really hope that skins over ski boots is not the direction we're headed